SWISS RADIOPHONIC ART AND COMMISSIONED COMPOSITIONS BY THE SWISS BROADCASTING CORPORATION (SRG SSR) AT THE PRIX ITALIA
SWISS RADIOPHONIC ART AND COMMISSIONED COMPOSITIONS BY THE SWISS BROADCASTING CORPORATION (SRG SSR) AT THE PRIX ITALIA

Summary/Abstract: Since its establishment as a public broadcaster in 1931, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) has been tasked with producing and disseminating information and entertainment programmes. Its cultural remit has also encompassed the promotion of culture, including music. One form of this promotion has been the distribution of composition commissions for different occasions. The inventory of these works, which is being compiled as part of the project “Music promotion over the airwaves. The SRG’s commissions of Classical Music and their Effects on Musical Life in Switzerland (1931–2021)” at Zurich University of the Arts, also includes a few pieces that SRG SSR submitted to the international competition Prix Italia. A systematic search in the Prix Italia archives brought up 221 works of Swiss radiophonic art that can be considered its representative selection. This contribution takes the opportunity to examine the collection of productions submitted to the competition by SRG SSR, offering a unique overview of Swiss radiophonic art and exploring its characteristics and development in the course of the entire competition. On the other hand, a look behind the scenes of the Prix Italia offers an impression of what has been understood as radiophonic art in the international European radio community and how it has transformed over the last 75 years of the radio history.

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